Nov 04, 2026 6:05pm IST
‘Ra.One’ At 15: Director Anubhav Sinha On Shah Rukh Khan, Losing Creative Control, Lessons From The Film And The Possibility of ‘Ra.One 2’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Ra.One” recently completed 15 years (26 October 2011) since its release at the box office. The big-budget superhero movie was one of the most ambitious, unconventional and technologically forward-looking experiments in mainstream Indian cinema. On the occasion of its anniversary, director Anubhav Sinha speaks about the film’s ideation, the biggest challenge, losing control of the film and the possibility of “Ra.One 2” in an exclusive interview with Variety India.
When you first conceived ‘Ra.One,’ before Shah Rukh Khan, the budget and the scale became part of the conversation; what was the film in your head? If we could read that earliest version of the script today, what would surprise us about how different it was from the film that reached theatres?
Honestly, I met him with an idea that I narrated to him in five minutes. Then, the two of us saw and helped the film evolve. This is how the stars of the 90s worked. They chose people first that they were okay to work with and then, together they would find an idea that would excite both. Now it is different; I am not certain whether for better or for worse.
You have spoken about losing control of the film. But was there a particular creative decision you initially disagreed with, eventually accepted, and regretted after watching the finished film? What stopped you from standing your ground?
Because there was such a huge star involved, people often attribute the statement to Shah Rukh. No, that was not what I was saying. Together we envisioned a film much larger than ever attempted. He was the star and the producer. It was my job to run the whole gamut. Today, 18 years since the making began, when I am slightly wiser, it feels I could have had better control over more things. I was much younger.
Was there a character, subplot or emotional beat that you loved but had to sacrifice in the edit? If that material had survived, would it have changed how audiences understood G.One, Ra.One or the father-son relationship?
Not in my memory. As far as I remember, that was the most loved part of the film for the young ones at the time.
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‘Ra.One’ was simultaneously a superhero film, a science-fiction spectacle, a family drama, a gaming story and a Shah Rukh Khan entertainer. At what point did you realise that serving all these identities might be pulling the film in different directions? Which identity should have taken precedence?
This is the first time I am asked this question. Thanks. That is the biggest challenge when you work with such a huge star. There have been many big stars before and there could be many after, but there are very few that reach so wide that they are the darlings of the granny, the mother, the father, the children and the daughter-in-law all at once. In the same room. These stars are tough to pull off. Each one of them in the room has a relationship with this star. All different relationships in the same room, but all loving across the board. Now how do you tell all of them at once that this is not Shah Rukh Khan? This is a guy who has just come out of a fictitious video game into the real world. The only way it will work is that the character is acceptable to every relationship. All the best.
Forget the VFX spectacle and the action set pieces. Which one scene from ‘Ra.One’ comes closest to the film you wanted to make — and why do you think that particular scene captures your original vision better than the film as a whole?
I think the moment between the G.One and the son, face-to-face moments before G.One disintegrates. It had everything. Why? It has a magical confluence of all the art forms at play in the scene.
Who did you imagine would be the film's core audience when you wrote it? Looking back, did you misunderstand what children, families, gaming enthusiasts or traditional Shah Rukh Khan fans wanted from a superhero film?
In our heads, Shah Rukh and I were writing/making the film for our kids, Aryan and Shlok. I think the only thing that we miscalculated was that such an integrated idea of a video game in the story was a little far out for the time. Maybe it still is. We will never know.
At what point did the scale of ‘Ra.One’ stop being liberating and start becoming restrictive? Was there a stage when you were making decisions to protect the size of the project rather than to serve the story?
That was a banned word during production and promotions: restriction.
Was there a VFX sequence that your team initially told you could not be executed within the available time or technology? What eventually happened to it?
None whatsoever. No department. No team member ever said that. In fact, they gave more than I was promising to be happy with. They made the film.
Which shooting day do you remember most vividly — not because it was spectacular, but because something went wrong and you had to rethink your approach?
[This happened] a lot of times. Mostly because it was a very demanding execution every day. Sometimes the actor was hanging from a harness for hours; sometimes it was the DoP precariously perched at a height. Every time I thought, should I just make it easier and then didn’t. Not that they would let me. Thank God and the team.
If ‘Ra.One 2’ happens, would you want to correct the weaknesses of the first film or make something radically different that could not have been imagined in 2011?
I always prefer making new mistakes and somehow, it works for me.
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